A lightning strike is believed to have caused a vegetation fire near Nelson last night.

A man who severed two fingers while splitting wood was just one of four incidents the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter attended yesterday

A 62-year-old woman, violently raped on New Year's Day, has spoken of her ordeal to detectives hunting for the "dangerous'' man who attacked her.

Nelson police have spent much of today canvassing a neighbourhood where a 62-year-old woman was beaten and sexually assaulted as she worked alone at a community garden.

Three men have been taken to hospital after a car rolled into the sea in Nelson.

A Nelson pub was gutted by a suspicious fire that sparked fears for an adjacent petrol station early this morning.

A car fleeing from a police pursuit has narrowly avoided pedestrians as it crashed into the front doors of an ANZ bank overnight.

A baby girl has been hospitalised after being attacked by her family dog.

As John Key wraps up an important Burma visit, he talks to Herald Political Editor Audrey Young about what he's learned and seen.

The Department of Conservation has confirmed that the decision has been made to euthanise the remaining 16 whales who became stranded at Farewell Spit.

A 53-year-old man has been charged with assaulting another man and throwing him overboard from a yacht in the Marlborough Sounds.

A Nelson man has died on board a fishing vessel travelling to Nelson from Mauritius. He'd been reported dead by the captain on Sunday.